White House says deal between Israel, Hamas ‘as close’ as ever

The White House said Wednesday it is as “as close” as it has ever been to reaching a cease-fire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas.

“There is a good proposal before both sides, and they need to both accept that proposal so we can get this in place,” White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters. “We are as close as we think we have ever been.”

Kirby added that gaps have narrowed in the negotiations and the U.S. believes a deal can be reached, though he did not offer a timeline. The gaps are related to “implementation details that need to be hashed out,” he said.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken also said Tuesday at a press conference that “the negotiations have now reached a final stage.”

All parties “agreed on the urgency of bringing this process to closure,” Blinken said. “Concluding that agreement and avoiding any action that could somehow disrupt it is the only path to ending the conflict in Gaza and bringing calm to the region. It’s critical that all parties work to finalize an agreement as soon as possible.”

Hamas still holds some 115 hostages that Israel wants free in return for an exchange of Palestinian prisoners and a temporary cease-fire in Gaza where more than 39,000 people have died since the war began on Oct. 7, per local health officials.

The deal, which was offered by President Biden and has been approved by the United Nations, calls for an initial phase of releasing the most vulnerable hostages and prisoners along with a temporary cease-fire, while negotiations would continue for a lasting cease-fire and the release of more hostages.

Negotiations have been inching closer in the past few weeks, and Biden met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last month when he visited Washington to close the final gaps.

But negotiations have been endangered by a flare-up in hostilities in the Middle East. Israel last week assassinated a leading Hezbollah commander in Lebanon and Iran also blamed Israeli forces for the death of top Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh last Wednesday.

Iran, which backs Hamas and Hezbollah, has vowed revenge, as has its network of regional proxies.

Kirby said Wednesday that the U.S. was working “really hard with intense diplomacy to try to avoid an escalation” in the Middle East and get the cease-fire and hostage release deal sealed.

‘We’re engaged in some pretty intense performance together to prevent an escalation in the region,” Kirby said. “We don’t want to see an attack, and we’re going to keep working through diplomatic channels to see what we can do to de-escalate the tensions there.”

He added, that if there’s an attack, the U.S. will “defend Israel with a wide range of military capabilities.”